U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,761 issued Jun. 12, 1973 to Goran HARD AF SEGERSTAD, discloses an automatic toothpaste dispenser in the form of a toothbrush member. The toothbrush member includes an elongated shank 2 having a first outer end 7, bearing transverse bristles 16, and a second inner end 18, having external screwing threads 4. A hollow cylindrical reservoir 20 is threadingly engaged at a first inner end (having internal screwing threads 19) with the external screwing threads 4 of the shank 2, and is closed at its second outer end (also having internal screwing threads 21) by a removable screw plug 23. The elongated shank 2 includes a through-channel 10, opening at one end into the reservoir 20 at the opposite end within the bristles 16. In operation, as the toothpaste-containing reservoir 20 is screwed inwardly along the threaded shank 3, the toothpaste is concurrently forced to engage the channel 10 and to eventually escape through aperture 15 in between the bristles 16. Thus, the biasing force that bias the toothpaste within the bristles is a piston-type biasing means.
Canadian patent No. 353,161 issued Sep. 24, 1935 to C. Alson, consists of a similar device, but further includes a spring-loaded push-valve button, 28, which controls the flow of fluid through the through-channel 16 of the shank 15. By actuating such valve means against the integral spring loaded means thereof, the fluid inside the reservoir 10 is allowed to flow through channel 16 to escape between the bristles 25 under biasing means. Such biasing means are gravity-borne forces (the user has to incline the dispenser with the bristle head located at the lower end thereof).
Therefore, in the patent references, a first means is required to bias the toothpaste through the shank channel, and a second valve means is required to control the flow of fluid through the channel, the first and second means operating independently.